ADIC Ships Tape Library with NAS Connectivity

11/03/1999

Redmond, Wash. -- Advanced Digital Information Corp. (ADIC, www.adic.com) released this week what the company says is the first tape storage platform to ship with network attached storage (NAS) connectivity capabilities.

The Scalar 100 is designed to support the emerging storage and networking architectures with configurable plug-in modules for NAS, storage area networking (SAN), and SCSI connectivity. The goal is to adjust the library architecture to meet changing storage requirements. Installation of the company’s StorNext network attach library option, for instance, converts the Scalar 100 into a NAS tape library.

As a network-attached library, the Scalar 100 allows heterogeneous network clients to connect directly to the library, eliminating the need for a separate server.

Other tape libraries on the market can be used as NAS devices. Some libraries, for example, can be attached to a LAN via Ethernet, and libraries can be treated as disc on a LAN or WAN. With these systems, the libraries are attached to networks mostly to enhance management. ADIC’s Scalar 100, however, is designed to attach to the network and to function as a data repository. The library ships with ADIC’s proprietary intelligence technology, which includes a server operating system and built-in caching capability.

"We are offering network-attached storage that provides end users with near-line data access and the archiving of data," says Bryce Hein, product marketing manager at ADIC.

ADIC’s Scalar 100 also features a drive-independent design that, Hein says, supports DLTtape and AIT formats, Quantum Corp.’s SuperDLT, and the LTO Ultrium format that is being developed by Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp., and SeagateTechnology Inc. (www.seagate.com).

In its DLTtape configuration, the Scalar 100 houses up to six drives and 60 data cartridges, for a capacity of 4.8 TB, in 14 units of standard rack space.

The next generation of the Scalar 100 series, which is slated to ship in January, will include an integrated Web server manages the library over the Internet, according to Hein.